Page 36 of Love Collided

What worried me, though, was how much I was looking forward to that feeling again.

ELEVEN

SCOUT

The next morningI woke up nearly shaking in anticipation for the races. By the time I got dressed and headed down to Fox’s apartment, the entire crew was there waiting.

“Hey,” Ash said, smiling as she handed me a cup of coffee, “you ready for today?”

“No. I suddenly feel like I haven’t driven a car a day in my life,” I said, the panic bubbling up again.

Ash was the only one here who had raced in any professional races, so I knew she would understand the most.

“You’ll be fine. Treat it like any other race, on any other day, and you’re going to be okay. Remember, you don’t need number one, you need top ten today, which will be easy for you considering you beat us all half the time.”

The races were going to have four different race days, and each time I would have to place in the top ten, five, or three to continue on. It sounded so easy, but you never knew what would happen once you were actually out there racing. It wasn’t like our street races, if I messed up, I couldn’t turn around and race again or lose a few dollars. If I messed up in these races, I was out, and I didn’t know if Holt would give me another chance to prove myself or not.

“It sounds easy, but the thought of actually doing it? That part sounds a lot harder, and I can’t even beat Chase right now. How do I manage to race some of the top guys in the country when I can’t beat one jerk in a Porsche?”

She laughed. “You can’t underestimate him. Chase never got into sports or things like that. He was at the track with us constantly, and besides partying, all he did was race around. And do you think there could maybe be a possibility you psych yourself out when you race him?”

Quinn and Carly walked over, grabbing their own cups of coffee.

“Are you insinuating I’ve been letting him win?” I asked.

“No, not at all. I’m suggesting this one good looking man in particular is a little too distracting for you,” Ash said, her lips pursing hard as she tried not to laugh.

Quinn and Carly’s heads dropped together, both laughing along with her.

“You guys suck. That is not what is happening. I think calling him so good looking that I can’t handle racing him is giving him way too much credit. And it doesn’t matter, I’m dating Jesse. Why would I be thinking of Chase like that?”

I didn’t actually know if I was still dating Jesse, but I hadn’t told them about the night at the restaurant. I hid my groan. It was so embarrassing. It was already embarrassing enough to face the fact that I had let him give me the bare minimum for so long. Now I had to tell every one of my friends how he walked out on my birthday dinner.

“You’re still dating him?” Fox asked, no hint of humor on his face.

“Um, yeah? Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Chase said he saw you two get into a fight when he was out with his family. I guess we all assumed it was over,” Ash said.

“So now he’s gossiping about me to my friends?”

“It’s not gossip. I was texting him about the races today and he asked if Jesse was coming. When I asked why, he said he thought you two were fighting,” Fox said.

Heat filled my cheeks, and I knew they would be turning red. “I should have guessed you would be the one gossiping.”

“Am I not allowed to know what’s going on in your life now?” Fox asked. “How else would I know? You were about to walk in here and act like everything was fine. I’m sure Jesse would show up and pretend nothing ever happened.”

“What does it matter if we get into a fight? You and Ash do it, and I don’t need you to tell me every detail,” I said.

The crew watched us in silence. I knew they had a million things to add, but it seems Fox had been appointed the spokesperson for this.

“That’s different.”

“How?”

I didn’t know what he was about to say, but I figured it wouldn’t be good based on the way his lips pursed together.

“I think that’s enough today, Fox. She has more important things to worry about,” Quinn said, before turning to me. “This is your career, and all of us are here to support you today. No one else. Let’s forget about all the gossip and fights. We need to get to the track.”

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